Pundit launches an audio social media app for millennials

Just 2 percent of applicants got accepted to appear in the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt SF; Pundit was one of the teams to make the cut. The company debuted their audio social media platform on stage, presenting it to a panel of judges.

Co-founders Billy Shaw Susanto and Chris Aston told TechCrunch that they believe their forum for “bite-sized talkshows” will be used by young millennials who are looking to make voice chat more fun. “Unleash your inner Oprah,” Susanto said on stage.

They hope that filters such as monster and robot voices set this apart from traditional voice messaging apps. Pundit encourages users to send short sound bites to their followers or via private message.

“Anchor and many of those voice apps out there really focus on making broadcasting as utilitarian as possible, but the thing that’s missing is the lack of fun and the lack of conversation,” said Aston.

“Music, photos and videos have all been reinvented,” so it’s time to “create a social platform for voice experiences,” said Susanto.

The team recently graduated from NYU and has already secured a $120,000 investment from the Disney TechStars accelerator. Disney has had some of their top stars do AMAs on Pundit. They hope to eventually introduce voice filters so that people can sound like their favorite characters.

“Voice and audio is the last frontier for innovation in social media right now,” said Aston, and he believes Pundit has what it takes to change things.

The winner of San Francisco’s Startup Battlefield 2016 will be announced on Wednesday.